<A> NATURE AT ITS BEST - THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF GUILIN

Guilin, a simple likeable name, but not one that many people would easily recall. Thus I could be forgiven for not readily accepting my travel agent's suggestion that we should include it in our trip to China. I grudgingly agreed. It was only on reaching there that I realized the value of that suggestion. Guilin, with its astonishing landscape, and being home to a natural wonder, the Flute Reed Caves, is now world renown. Guilin is indeed the jewel of China's tourist industry on account of its natural beauty and historic treasures.

Guilin is an important cultural city with a history over of than 2,000 years. We flew into Guilin into a modern airport. Driving out into the city, we were immediately struck by the beauty of this region. It is a hilly area with a beautiful and clean River Li traversing it. It has lush vegetation, and crystal clear waters. The hills are strangely and artistically shaped. Guilin has plenty of water with the two rivers, Li and Taohua, and its four lakes. Nineteen bridges connect the rivers and the lakes, very impressive indeed.

Guilin, we will miss your beauty and the works of nature.

The River Cruise
The best way to take in the beauty of this place is to take a river cruise. Reaching the jetty at the city centre we were surprised to see the large number of luxury air-conditioned boats. These were rapidly filling up with hordes of tourists disembarking from many tourist buses. We were genially welcomed aboard. Our boat had two tiers with comfortable seats and tables. Snacks and food were available to bide the journey of four hours of the cruise.

The scenic Li River sparkled in the sunlight flowing through the lush mountainside.
We could see quaint fishing villages and bamboo groves on both sides.
As our boat traversed through the bends of the river, we were told of the history of the area and its scenery. All around are beautifully shaped hills that have been given very appropriate and cute names like Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill (Wave subsiding hill), Seven Star Hill, Solitary Beauty Peak and so on.

Suddenly we found a couple of hawkers on the two sides of the boat, clinging precariously to the boat. They were offering curios and mementos for sale. It was a pleasant diversion to haggle with them. As the day proceeded we discovered that what I had purchased for 10 yuan was bought by another person a little later for just 5 yuan! This was the typical Chinese bargaining system in action.

We were rather intrigued as to how the hawkers were getting on to our boats. We discovered that that they were moving on the river in innovative ways like a small canoe or even a log of wood. Suddenly the hawker would disappear. That is when it became clear they were very honest to keep to their own-charted territories.

When we reached our destination and disembarked from the boat, we found a veritable treasure of souvenirs and knick-knacks available for the memento-hungary
tourists. You could get Chinese dresses, mahjong sets, toys, purses and so on, virtually for a song. We certainly took this opportunity to collect these treasures. Our guide had to literally tear us away from these shops as we were getting late for the next engagement.

It was heartening to see the efforts that have been made in China to encourage the world traveler community to visit China. The improvements in the infrastructure, be it the airports, roads or hotels, are impressive. We found the guides well-trained, very knowledgeable and fluent in spoken English. We did not find the touts and the beggars that are a nuisance in so many countries of Asia, in fact even in Europe. This has certainly helped China showcase itself and attract plenty of tourists from all over the world.

The Wonders of Reed Flute Caves
In our Geography studies, we have all read of the phenomenon of Stalactites and Stalagmites. In limestone caves, rainwater percolating through the rocks above these caves, picks up some calcium carbonate and deposits it on the roof and the floor in beautiful needle-like structures. But seeing these in real life and in such epic proportions is something to experience. This is what we saw in the Reed Flute Caves of Guilin.

Walking through these caves on a 45 minutes trip was like being in the fairyland of nature. There are 77 well-maintained specimens of the stalagmites in beautiful shapes as if these were sculpted by gifted artists. You also see stone flowers, stone curtains and pillars. These are preserved and lighted innovatively and given enchanting names that captivate you. This is rightly a Natural Wonder of the World.

We also visited the Nanxi Park. This is a very aesthetically laid out park with its own beauty and attractions. No wonder it was teeming with people any time of the day. The availability of food courts nearby certainly helps. In Guilin Ocean World near Nanxi Park, one can see many varieties of fish in settings of tropical forest, waterfall area, sea area and so on. It has marine treasures from around the world, like giant hundreds-year old salamander, lungfish, and sea flowers.

During our visit, we had expected to face difficulty in finding foodstuff of our taste during our travels in China. With the profusion of the branded eateries like KFC, McDonalds and so on, this problem was largely removed. In fact the hotel in Guilin ensured that the Chinese food given to us was of plenty of variety. They had taken pains to see that the vegetarians amongst us were also looked after. Our dinners being seven-course spreads were in fact no less than a feast. The first night having feasted very well, we had retired when we got a message from our tour guide that one of us had perhaps taken a set of chopsticks away from the restaurant. This was to be returned. One person from our group sheepishly admitted to have taken these as a souvenir. He did not know that this is considered an accountable item!